Shaving - the manly way!

This month marks the anniversary of my grandfather’s passing and I always find myself thinking about him a little more this time of year. One of the most vivid memories I have of him is him standing near the bathroom sink, face covered in a fresh shaving cream lather that he had whipped up in a metal bowl and applied with a brush, and shaving his face with a straight razor with the precision of a master surgeon.  It’s an image that I have long associated with ‘manliness’, and while shaving a couple of weeks back with my canned foam and multi-blade cartridge razor I found myself feeling like I didn’t quite measure up to the standard that he had set for me.

I decided that I wanted to be more like the man I admired so much and I was going to get myself some real shaving gear and learn the art of the razor. I wondered if it was a thing that people even do anymore and if it was, where I would get information on the best products to buy.

Little did I know that there is a renaissance happening that is bringing back the old-school art of wet shaving and good grooming for men. With the number of lumberjack beards, flannel shirts and skinny jeans I see sported on the streets of our city, I was blissfully unaware that there is a sizeable and strong movement to bring back the look and style of the clean cut man to our culture. There are entire websites on the topic of wet shaving for men and there’s even a dedicated group of local gentlemen who are part of this shaving culture that I was completely ignorant to. The problem is that there are very few establishments in the area (that I am aware of) that carry the products needed for a fellow to begin his journey to appropriately sprucing himself up. That’s a bit of a problem.

For example, I immediately wanted to purchase a high quality double edged safety razor and some top of the line razor blades to replace my old Gillette Fusion. There are at least five stores within a stone’s throw of my workplace that specialize in women’s beauty products, but not a single one that carried anything resembling a man’s razor. A search of the entire city and surrounding areas produced the same sort of results. I ended up spending my hard earned money at an online shopping website instead of patronizing a local merchant and, as someone who works in the ever-dwindling retail industry, this caused me great frustration. I’m trying to build a better man here, and nobody will supply me with the tools!

The good news is that I did manage to buy some great shaving creams and aftershaves on my adventures, and got some great words of encouragement from some ladies I dealt with who thought it was refreshing to see a man take ownership of his appearance.  There was a common thread, though, in that most of the ladies I dealt with remarked that it was unusual to see men in shopping for more luxurious personal hygiene products. It was somehow seen as “sissy” by folks who considered themselves to be ‘real men’ and those who would have you believe that they shave with a steak knife and a bar of Irish Spring.  It would seem than in my efforts to get in touch with a more masculine pursuit I could somehow be seen by some as less manly.

It’s no wonder the men’s grooming products are hoarded in the dark corners of these shops like the adult movies at a corner video store.  What self-respecting man would want his beer drinking buddies to see him buying shaving cream formulated with Maca Root, right? Embrace the caveman culture, Malloy!
How discouraging.


I am encouraged somewhat, though, by the appearance of the old-timey barbershops that have been cropping up as of late – opened by enterprising young men who want to make the old new again. Much like the thoughts of my Granddad’s razor conjure up fond images from my past, the sound of hair clippers and smell of talcum powder bring me back to sitting in a real barber’s chair when I was a kid; listening to the older fellows talking about sports and the weather and getting a “real haircut” as Granddad used to say. It’s been years since I’ve been to a ‘real’ barber shop, and I think it’s high time I started going back to one.

Perhaps it will be these shops that lead the charge into getting us men looking more like respectable gentlemen again and less like forest dwelling sasquatches. It could be that they can start carrying the products – razors and such - that slouches like me are looking for in a bid to change the image of the modern Moncton man from scruff to spiffy?  Maybe I just keep giving my money to Amazon.ca and confusing store clerks by asking them for an alum block.

Regardless, the genie has been let out of the bottle and I won’t go back to my slovenly ways – even if it’s much harder than being a slob. Some wise business folks in the area might want to take notice of this underserved market and start bringing in some product for what seems to be a growing customer base.

As your first products, I would recommend something to stop bleeding. This razor stuff is hard.